Types of Community Housing

Integrated (mostly rural) Properties

“Integrated Properties” are properties where there is a multitude of houses on one site. Properties such as this are rare and hard to come by. Other organizations have established such housing (mostly in other states) and they are thriving. They are, however, all full and provide no solution for our children. Additionally, since they were established as being all encompassing (meaning they not only provide housing, but include all services such as day programs, ILS or SLS), they may no longer be acceptable under the new rules and guidelines put in place by CMS (http://www.dds.ca.gov/HCBS/docs/finalRule.pdf). Living Unlimited’s concept is that housing and services will be separate. LU secures the long-term living arrangements and outside vendors provide the services residents require.

About one-third of our Living Unlimited families report (by completing this questionnaire: http://www.living-unlimited.org/register/) that an intentional community would be their first choice option for their adult disabled child.

If you feel your child might thrive in an inclusive community where nature and beauty are manifest in the raising plants and animals and the passing of the seasons (whether an urban orchard and garden, a country village or a rural farm), this option may be ideal. Take your child to a local petting zoo, equestrian park, park or large garden. If they seem to be at peace, you are probably on the right track.

We know these sorts of opportunities are incredibly rare, so when a property presents itself we act. To this end, we are now in contract to purchase Clearwater Ranch in Cloverdale, Sonoma County and are accepting applications to fill 13 openings at prices hovering around $250,000 per family (single occupancy bedroom). We are currently working on financing and believe we can secure a 50% loan once we have three more families committed. The property consists of 84 rolling acres in Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley wine country. It is comprised of 9 homes, 35 bedrooms, a commercial kitchen, gymnasium and shallow swimming pool and bordering a large reserve. See http://www.living-unlimited.org/clearwater-ranch-in-cloverdale/ for details.

We are organizing visits regularly. Please consider a visit.

As mentioned, such ready-made properties are incredibly rare and we are very excited to offer this as our first Living Unlimited housing endeavor.

Clustered (mostly suburban) Single Family Homes

A cluster of smaller (three- to seven-bedroom) single family residences located near each other with oversight and management provided by Living Unlimited. This suburban lifestyle is similar to the way most of our children are now living. We are currently in contract to purchase a four bedroom (with the possibility of adding bedrooms and Community Manager accommodations) in Pinole. The property is around 3.3 acres. See http://www.living-unlimited.org/east-bay-clustered-housing-community/ for details. As you’ll see from its webpage we are organizing visits presently. Please consider a visit.

In our clustered home concept we estimate that we can provide permanent housing for young adults with I/DD for around $250,000 for a single occupancy bedroom. Since financing is relatively easy with single-family suburban residences the out of pockets costs will be much more palatable than purchasing properties where all cash is necessary. About one third of our families favor this option.

This type of housing is located in more urban setting with the advantage of easy access to amenities. To date, we have not identified any attractive properties, but have looked at enough to be able to describe what is in the market and what our options might be.